“I believe in movement. I believe in that lighthearted balloon, the world. I believe in midnight and the hour of noon. But what else do I believe in? Sometimes everything. Sometimes nothing. It fluctuates like light flitting over a pond. I believe in life, which one day each of us shall lose. When we are young we think we won’t, that we are different. […] How did we get so damn old? I say to my joints, my iron-colored hair.” – Patti Smith
Click here and listen to Patti Smith’s album “Horses” while reading if you would like.
I read “Just Kids” by Patti Smith and instantly loved her and her style of writing. Of course I was so happy when her book M Train arrived in my mailbox, pre-ordered by my husband. (Je t’aime mon amour!) M Train was different than “Just Kids” (read my book review here) but oh so great at the same time. Smith has a way of being very honest and straight forward. I love to read memoirs – it is probably my favorite when it comes to literary nonfiction genre. Let’s dive into the book review.
Patti Smith sits in this little café in Greenwich Village every day, has black coffee and simply writes. This by itself is already great and I can totally relate. Of course I googled this particular café; Café ‘Ino, but it closed a while ago. So she sits there, observes people and writes in her little notebook – sometimes even on napkins. Her stories and notes in the book are dreams, about travel, black coffee, some more black coffee, many memories, artists, art, photography and of course her voice through all of it. If you love to read and love to write this is your book. Then you do understand this feeling I am trying to describe when sitting in a café; as Patti Smith does, and just watch the world go by and be creative to write about it. One chapter for example was about Arthur Rimbaud who Patti Smith adored. She traveled to his graveside and wrote about her journey in a very beautiful way. She puts everything together very well – love, life, art, feelings, her ideas and imagination. She mentioned many books that she read so me as a professional reader (my husband loves this term) had to pick up some of her books she read to review.
While reading M Train you will learn a lot about reading and writing but at points it is also about the “unbearable lightness of being” – and yes, I stole this one from Milan Kundera. This book is also for you if you love artists and art. You will discover her view on some of them and how her heart and soul opens up when she describes their artwork. Reading her book made me dream of having my own café or bookstore again. The way she describes what she eats in that little café made me almost smell and taste it. She is incredible with words. So what does the “M” stand for? Memory! 😉
My husband purchased this book in hardcover which I thought was a good choice. The pages feel thicker than regular pages in a book. There are many pictures and Polaroid images in it and my experience is that an e-book messes all these up.
This book simply touched me in a special way. Purchase this book, take a little notebook and head to your favorite café.
Also, there is this great recent interview of her I found on YouTube if you would like to listen.
Thank you for reading my blog.
